ST. LOUIS — A man from Cahokia, Illinois was sentenced to prison on Friday in connection with an incident from June 2019.
Conrad Sparkman was sentenced to 120 months in prison - which is the statutory maximum sentence for a felon in possession of a firearm - after he pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm on Sept. 24.
On June 11, 2019, officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department tried to stop a car that was driving by Sparkman for having a tinted windshield and an expired Missouri temporary license plate.
Court documents said Sparkman fled from the officers and then drove the car the wrong way down a one-way street, into oncoming traffic and violated an electric signal.
Officers said they stopped their pursuit of Sparkman and an aviation unit monitored his path until he parked the car in the 4100 block of Shreve.
Sparkman and a woman got out of the car and walked away. Officers then tried to detail Sparkman, who then ran away.
Police said during a foot pursuit, Sparkman removed a firearm from his waistband and fired at an officer, which is when officers returned fire, according to court documents. Sparkman was shot in the left arm and right hand, which caused him to drop the firearm.
Police said they recovered numerous items along Sparkman’s path, including a 9mm pistol loaded with one live round in the chamber and a magazine containing eight additional live rounds.
“The police department is truly grateful for the partnership it has with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in prosecuting violent felons to the fullest extent of the law,” said St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief John Hayden. “This guilty plea is particularly meaningful and timely when you consider the unprecedented gun violence directed at our officers, just this year alone.”
